Boiler control question

A question about : Boiler control question

Hi,

I was trying to reduce the themostat on my boiler to 60c. At the moment the water that comes out it is far too hot to use, which is silly and a waste. But it doesn't seem to have a thermostat, or any other controls I can find for that matter other than an on/off switch.

Any ideas?

In an ideal world i'd want it set so that when you turn it on it stays on for half an hour or so to heat the tank then turns off as my flatmate always forgets and leaves it running all the time. Is it worth paying a plumber to come and fit something like that or cheaper just to put up with the waste?

Our electricty bill is 700 per year on a small flat so i think somethings wrong. I have just moved us to the cheapest supplier.

Also is there anywhere that has scienitifically backed advice on whether household applicances use power when on stand by. I have recently heard:

1 - appliances use the same power on stand by as in normal use.
2 - applicances use neglible power on stand by, a few pence per year
3 - appliances use neglible power on stand-by if they don't have a motor in but the same as normal if they do.
4 - that it is irrelevant if the device is on or off. If the plug at the wall is turned on it power is consumed, even if nothing is plugged in.

Clearly most of this nonsense. But which bits? Actually I should probably post this elsewhere. *scurries off*

cheers

Best answers:

• Reduce it to 60C - what is it now? It should be much lower than 60c.
  What sort of boiler?
  1. No
  2. Yes - typically 50p a year for TV/DVDs
  3. Motors don't normally run on standby so consumption is normally negligble.
  4. Incorrect, Socket at wall off - no power consumed.
• What is it now? no idea. I can find no controls, no temperature scale and for that matter no make of boiler.
• Are we talking about a boiler here or an immersion heater? Never seen an electric boiler. If it's an immersion heater the thermostat will be under the (usually) black cover on the hot water cylinder. Be careful though, there are live terminals inside.
• If it is a cylinder heated by the boiler then the stored temperature needs to be 60 degrees to kill off any prospect of Legionares which multiplies quite happily below about 55 degrees, you can always add cold water to it for washing perposes and you could always swop for a mixer tap so you can control water temp at outlet, you can fit taps that only stay on for a certain length of time that should thwart your flatmate.
• It may just be an immersion heater then. Don't know about such things.
  *scurries off for screwdriver*
  Thanks all.
• derrick is quite right about the little bugs, 60 degrees c is good, anything much over 65 degrees will deposit lots of scale in the tank, this will eventually cover your immersion element so it cant detect the water temp properly, then it will overheat and blow the element! Dont worry we are not talking explosion, just an electrical short causing power to trip out and u to have cold baths til fixed.